Robert of Lincoln
Merrily swinging on brier and weed,Near to the nest of his little dame,Over the mountain-side or mead,Robert of Lincoln is telling his name.Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Snug and safe is this nest of ours,Hidden among the summer flowers.Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln is gayly dressed,Wearing a bright, black wedding-coat;White are his shoulders, and white his crest,Hear him call in his merry note,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Look what a nice, new coat is mine;Sure there was never a bird so fine.Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln’s Quaker wife,Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings,Passing at home a patient life,Broods in the grass while her husband sings,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Brood, kind creature, you need not fearThieves and robbers while I am here.Chee, chee, chee.
Modest and shy as a nun is she;One weak chirp is her only note;Braggart, and prince of braggarts is he,Pouring boasts from his little throat,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Never was I afraid of man,Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can.Chee, chee, chee.
Six white eggs on a bed of hay,Flecked with purple, a pretty sight:There as the mother sits all day,Robert is singing with all his might,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Nice good wife that never goes out,Keeping house while I frolic about.Chee, chee, chee.
Soon as the little ones chip the shell,Six wide mouths are open for food;Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,Gathering seeds for the hungry brood:Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,This new life is likely to beHard for a gay young fellow like me.Chee, chee, chee.
Robert of Lincoln at length is madeSober with work, and silent with care,Off is his holiday garment laid,Half forgotten that merry air,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,Nobody knows but my mate and I,Where our nest and our nestlings lie.Chee, chee, chee.
Summer wanes; the children are grown;Fun and frolic no more he knows;Robert of Lincoln’s a hum-drum drone;Off he flies, and we sing as he goes,Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink,When you can pipe that merry old strain,Robert of Lincoln, come back again.Chee, chee, chee.
Words in this poem
- brier n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- spank v. t.
- To strike, as the breech, with the open hand; to slap. [Of unknown origin; cf. LG. spakken, spenkern, to run and spring about quickly.]
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- quaker n.
- One who quakes.
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Robert of Lincoln is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, Robert of Lincoln, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/robert-of-lincoln.html, id L25189.
Form and metre
Robert of Lincoln is 72 lines in 8 stanzas of 9 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDD, in 2 of the 8 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCCDD- weedA · dameB · meadA · nameB · linkC · spinkC · oursD · flowersD · chee
- 2 ABABCCDD- dressedA · coatB · crestA · noteB · linkC · spinkC · mineD · fineD · chee
- 3 ABABCCDD- wifeA · wingsB · lifeA · singsB · linkC · spinkC · fearD · hereD · chee
- 4 ABABCCDDA sheA · noteB · heA · throatB · linkC · spinkC · manD · canD · cheeA
- 5 ABABCCDD- hayA · sightB · dayA · mightB · linkC · spinkC · outD · aboutD · chee
- 6 ABABCCDDD shellA · foodB · wellA · broodB · linkC · spinkC · beD · meD · cheeD
- 7 ABABCCDDD madeA · careB · laidA · airB · linkC · spinkC · iD · lieD · cheeD
- 8 ABABCCDD- grownA · knowsB · droneA · goesB · linkC · spinkC · strainD · againD · chee
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Merrily swinging on brier and weed, | 8 | /˘/˘·/·· |
| Near to the nest of his little dame, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Over the mountain-side or mead, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Robert of Lincoln is telling his name. | 10 | /˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Snug and safe is this nest of ours, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Hidden among the summer flowers. | 9 | /˘···/˘/˘ |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Robert of Lincoln is gayly dressed, | 9 | /˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Wearing a bright, black wedding-coat; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| White are his shoulders, and white his crest, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Hear him call in his merry note, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Look what a nice, new coat is mine; | 8 | ········ |
| Sure there was never a bird so fine. | 8 | ···/···· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Robert of Lincoln’s Quaker wife, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Pretty and quiet, with plain brown wings, | 8 | /˘·/···· |
| Passing at home a patient life, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Broods in the grass while her husband sings, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Brood, kind creature, you need not fear | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Thieves and robbers while I am here. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Modest and shy as a nun is she; | 9 | /˘······· |
| One weak chirp is her only note; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Braggart, and prince of braggarts is he, | 9 | /˘······· |
| Pouring boasts from his little throat, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Never was I afraid of man, | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| Catch me, cowardly knaves, if you can. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Six white eggs on a bed of hay, | 8 | ········ |
| Flecked with purple, a pretty sight: | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| There as the mother sits all day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Robert is singing with all his might, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Nice good wife that never goes out, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Keeping house while I frolic about. | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Soon as the little ones chip the shell, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Six wide mouths are open for food; | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Gathering seeds for the hungry brood: | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| This new life is likely to be | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Hard for a gay young fellow like me. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Robert of Lincoln at length is made | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Sober with work, and silent with care, | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Off is his holiday garment laid, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Half forgotten that merry air, | 8 | ·˘/˘·/˘· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| Nobody knows but my mate and I, | 9 | /········ |
| Where our nest and our nestlings lie. | 8 | ·/··//˘· |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
| Summer wanes; the children are grown; | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| Fun and frolic no more he knows; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Robert of Lincoln’s a hum-drum drone; | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Off he flies, and we sing as he goes, | 9 | ········· |
| Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link, | 6 | ······ |
| Spink, spank, spink, | 3 | ··· |
| When you can pipe that merry old strain, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Robert of Lincoln, come back again. | 9 | /˘·/˘··˘/ |
| Chee, chee, chee. | 3 | ··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.